Buzz
Paleontologists often spend many years earning a master's degree or Ph.D. in paleontology. This thorough academic preparation equips them to begin careers focused on discovering and analyzing ancient animal and plant fossils. It's an exhilarating field of study that also explores the connections between ancient life forms and their modern descendants.
It's always big news when paleontologists uncover a fossil that reveals fresh insights into dinosaurs, mammoths, or even a previously unknown species.
Yet, sometimes these experts are outdone by a fortunate accident. After searching for a specific fossil for years, a simple stroll along a beach can lead to the unexpected discovery of that very fossilized remnant from a new species. This list showcases some of the most remarkable fossils discovered entirely by chance in recent years.
10. Mammoth Fossils Found During Construction Projects
In 2016, workers installing a new drainpipe near Mexico City made an extraordinary find. As they dug into the road, their tools struck the remains of a mammoth that had been alive 14,000 years ago, weighing approximately 10 tons (9 tonnes) in its prime. A paleontologist called to the scene suggested that the mammoth’s remains had likely been dismembered after its death, as the bones were scattered 6 feet (1.8 meters) beneath the surface.
In 2019, residents of Puebla discovered a mammoth tusk alongside a wolf fang and a camel skull. Since wolves would have hunted both camels and mammoths, experts were puzzled as to why these remains were found together in one location.
The mystery was soon solved when ancient weapons were found near the animal remains. It was likely that humans had killed the massive animals and left their bodies in a pile to decompose.
In 2020, archaeologists had their moment in the spotlight when they unearthed about 200 mammoth skeletons under a construction site in Mexico. The site, being developed into an airport, had yielded enormous mammoth traps and fossils.
9. Fossil of a Giant Millipede Found on a Beach
If you’re not fond of massive insects, the idea of an 8-foot (2.5-meter), 110-pound (50-kilogram) millipede making its way across a beach might be enough to send chills down your spine. Long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, these colossal millipedes dominated the land. They’re believed to have survived by feasting on a diet that included not just seeds and nuts but small animals as well, helping them achieve their incredible size.
In 2021, scientists from the UK made a serendipitous discovery when they found the fossilized remains of a gigantic millipede at Howick Bay, Northumberland, England.
While initially visiting the beach to research its geology, the scientists stumbled upon a boulder that had been dislodged from a cliff and cracked open. Upon closer inspection, they found the millipede fossil lodged inside the crevice formed by the rock’s split.
At that moment, the millipede (Arthropleura) fossil became only the third of its kind to be uncovered and the very first to be found in England.
8. 200 Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Bone Found in Rubble
In August 2021, Professor Mark McMenamin of the University of Massachusetts Amherst was taking a leisurely walk around the campus. As he passed by some construction workers, he noticed a pile of loose rocks near their work area. He inquired if he could take a few rocks to add to his wife’s garden, and after receiving permission, he collected about 20 rocks that caught his eye.
Upon returning home and inspecting the rocks, Professor McMenamin found that one of them had a rough texture that seemed to resemble a fossil. Curious, he tested it using X-ray technology and was astounded to find that the rock contained the elbow bone of a neotheropod.
Neotheropods were large dinosaurs that lived in the Early Jurassic Period, known for their sharp teeth and hollow bones. After examining his find, McMenamin concluded that the dinosaur likely preyed on freshwater fish and may have lived primarily in water. Neotheropods existed before the T. Rex and were the largest predatory dinosaurs of their era.
7. Boy Trips Over Stegomastodon Fossil
In 2017, Jude Sparks, just 9 years old, made a remarkable discovery when he tripped over an object, unknowingly uncovering one of the most exciting fossil finds of recent times.
While hiking with his family in the Organ Mountains of New Mexico, Jude thought he had stumbled upon the remains of a cow. However, after a closer inspection by his parents, they realized the bones couldn’t be from a cow, and they began to suspect they had found something far more significant.
After reaching out to a professor at New Mexico State University, the Sparks family learned that Jude had discovered a fossilized Stegomastodon tusk. This discovery astonished them, prompting them to start a fundraising campaign to finance an excavation of the site. Months later, the full skull of the Stegomastodon was unearthed.
Stegomastodons, ancient relatives of the woolly mammoth, were precursors to modern elephants. It’s believed they were hunted by early humans, and their fossils are seldom found intact when exposed to the elements.
An 85,000-year-old ancient whale skeleton was uncovered deep in a jungle, offering another rare glimpse into the distant past.
In 2022, a team of scientists ventured into a Taiwanese jungle with no intention of discovering ancient whale remains. Yet, that’s exactly what they uncovered. As they navigated through the dense jungle, they noticed something protruding from the earth in the valley's center.
Upon approaching, they were stunned to find whale ribs sticking out of the ground. The team launched an excavation and, after several months, revealed more than 70% of an ancient blue whale’s skeleton, including a 7-foot (2.1-meter) jawbone, tailbone, shoulder blades, and fragments of its skull.
Eight scientists took it upon themselves to transport the entire fossil by foot, carrying the bones on stretchers for seven hours. This enormous fossil became the second-largest ever found on Taiwan and was subsequently brought to the National Museum of Nature Science for cleaning and preservation.
Norway made an astonishing discovery when a single dinosaur fossil was found during an oil drilling operation.
In 1997, an oil company drilling in the North Sea at a depth of 7,401 feet (2,256 meters) unexpectedly struck a dinosaur fossil. Specifically, the drill hit a knucklebone from a Plateosaurus, a dinosaur that roamed the Earth during the late Triassic Period nearly 210 million years ago.
This unintentional discovery also made its mark in the record books, as the deepest dinosaur fossil find ever. While Plateosaurs were terrestrial creatures, this particular one had most likely been swept out to sea by a tsunami, which would account for its bone fragments being discovered far from the coastline.
The knucklebone remains the only dinosaur fragment discovered in Norway, but experts are optimistic that more fossils may be uncovered on Spitsbergen Island. This island is part of the Svalbard archipelago located in the northernmost regions of Norway.
4. Exceptionally Well-Preserved Fossil Unearthed during Mining Operations
In 2011, a worker at an oilsands mine in Alberta, Canada, was going through a pile of dirt when he noticed something peculiar in the clump of soil he had set aside. Upon closer inspection, he saw a diamond-like pattern on what appeared to be a rough-textured piece of debris, immediately recognizing it as an unusual find.
It was indeed a remarkable find—the most intact armored dinosaur fossil ever discovered, and also the oldest fossil ever found in Alberta. This fossil was recognized as a new species of nodosaur and is now on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
Paleontologists also discovered that the dinosaur perished shortly after consuming its final meal, which consisted of a blend of ferns and other plant life. The food it had ingested was remarkably preserved within the dinosaur's stomach, just like the creature itself. This discovery led to a groundbreaking shift in our understanding of the diet of large herbivorous dinosaurs, revealing that they did not exclusively consume soft leaves but also ate tougher plants, such as conifers, which had previously been thought to be avoided.
The stomach contents also included a small amount of charcoal, suggesting that the dinosaur was grazing in an area that had been subjected to recurring wildfires.
3. Hadrosaur Fossil Discovered with Skin Intact
In 2021, biologist Teri Kaskie was exploring Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta when she noticed a fossilized skeleton partially exposed in the rock. Upon closer examination, she realized she had stumbled upon a Hadrosaur fossil so well-preserved that patches of its skin were still attached to the bones.
Kaskie alerted the Royal Tyrrell Museum, where experts confirmed that a Hadrosaur fossil in such an exceptional state of preservation is an incredibly rare find.
It is speculated that the skeleton remains intact beneath the rock, and that additional skin may be found when the fossil is fully uncovered. Currently, what has been exposed includes the tail and right hind foot. Experts believe that the dinosaur perished when a riverbank collapsed onto it.
Hadrosaurs were massive, duck-billed herbivorous dinosaurs that lived across North America and Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period, around 77 million years ago. Over time, they spread to other regions, including Europe, South America, and Africa.
2. Teacher Discovers Fossil Older than Dinosaur Fossils
Prince Edward Island is a breathtakingly beautiful place, and high school teacher Lisa St. Coeur Cormier enjoys taking her dog on walks along the beach while soaking in the stunning views.
While on the lookout for sea glass, she was strolling along Cape Egmont Beach in August 2022 when she noticed what appeared to be a tree root sticking out of the sand. As she approached, she realized it was actually a rib cage attached to a spine, along with a skull.
She told her mother-in-law about her discovery, who then forwarded some of the photos Lisa had taken to a couple of local fossil experts for further investigation.
Scientists and paleontologists quickly arrived at the beach to carefully examine what Lisa had found. After a thorough analysis, they determined that the bones belonged to a reptile from the Carboniferous Period, which occurred nearly 300 million years ago, making it older than dinosaur fossils from the Jurassic Period. The fossil is still under study, and the specific species is expected to be identified by the end of 2023.
1. Man Discovers 82-Foot Dinosaur in His Backyard
As construction activities have ramped up in recent years, increasingly bizarre and fascinating items have been uncovered on construction sites, in parking lots (such as King Richard III’s skeleton!), and even in private backyards.
In 2017, a man was supervising construction work on his land in Pombal, Portugal, when he noticed bone fragments protruding from the ground. He contacted local scientists, who began an excavation that ended up taking much longer than anyone had anticipated.
In 2022, it was revealed that the bones belonged to a massive 82-foot-long (25-meter) sauropod that roamed the Earth around 160 million years ago. To date, vertebrae and ribs have been uncovered, and excavation work is still ongoing. Each of the ribs is nearly 10 feet (3 meters) long, making them the largest sauropod ribs ever discovered in Europe.
